Wollongong council won't answer questions on whether the Austinmer pool plans were flawed

The Mercury sent Wollongong City Council a list of detailed questions about the Austinmer pool design and the issues raised by Michael Lee. But council, through its media unit, dodged all of the questions, other than saying it “strongly denied” all of the claims.

Questions about whether the design was flawed, whether council could have been more flexible, and why permits were not obtained from Fisheries, were ignored.

“Following the liquidation of Specialised Marine Services in late 2014, the liquidator has made several claims against Wollongong City Council. Council has strongly denied all of those claims,” a spokesman said.

“Affective Services is currently working through the challenging issues associated with this project.”

“Work to the pools require low-low tides and calm sea conditions. While the tide conditions can be forecast, the size of the seas and swell are not able to be predicted.

”This week, the contractor has returned to site and, provided the tide, sea and swell conditions are suitable, will carry out further pre-cast panel installation works to the eastern wall of the southern pool and further improvement works to the central concourse over the next few weeks.

“A stainless steel handrail to the eastern wall of the southern pool will also be installed.”